Tuesday 22 March 2016

Looking Forward To Easter & Poorly Pup Update


I hope everyone had a nice weekend, the final one before Easter weekend which I’m sure most are looking forward to. Do you all have nice plans for Easter? Jack’s parents are coming to stay with us from Thursday evening until Saturday so I’m sure we will plan a nice day out on Friday. I’m going to have a go at cooking some sickly sweet, rich, overindulgent chocolate Easter cake, but I’ll buy hot cross buns to save me some time! I love Spring Lamb too so I’m sure there’ll be a leg of lamb on the cards for the coming weekend too (have I mentioned I love food??). We might try and go to Thame Country Fair on Sunday; it’s not too far from us and looks like it has lots going on. A couple of my friends from Cambridgeshire are also taking part in the Horseboarding Championships and I’d love to see them in action.

 

Barry went from bad to worse last week so we had no choice but to take him back to the Vets on Thursday as he was very dehydrated from the constant vomiting. He was still bright in himself though quiet, but we couldn’t ignore it as the sickness had been going on for over a week and he was beginning to look a bit tucked up. The Vets decided to keep him in overnight to get him on some fluids and do some investigative tests the next morning; they did an x-ray, ultrasound, took biopsies and he had an endoscopy so the full works! Luckily no obstructions were found or anything untoward so it still remains a mystery. They kept him in for a second night to continue with the fluids, some antibiotics and some anti-sickness medicine to ensure he managed to get some food successfully through his system. I went and saw him on Friday as I couldn’t go a whole day without seeing him but he was still very groggy from the general anaesthetic, although they let me take him outside for a tiny walk (the staff at Donnington Grove Vets are all so wonderful and friendly). We were then allowed to pick him up on Saturday afternoon after a successful first day and night of no sickness. He’s very happy to be back home with us and we are too as we felt lost without him. He’s got a shaved tummy and various other shaved patches so he looks quite funny, but for the first time in a week he picked up his toy last night to play which we were so relieved about – he usually doesn’t leave us alone and is ALWAYS playing with his toys. It’s hard to know what caused the illness; severe gastroenteritis, a virus, or a food intolerance are all possibilities, but we’ll just have to keep an eye on him. He’s still on boiled chicken and pasta for a few more days along with some probiotics that the Vets gave us to help perk him back up again. I’ll be glad to have our boy back to normal J And thank god for pet insurance too!! We’ve certainly proved why you need insurance for the past year with Barry (see broken leg blog posts)!

 



 

In other news, after my rather moany last blog post, I can report I’m much happier having completed a month end at my new job so I’m sorry for being negative in my last post. I’m not sure if I previously mentioned but I took quite a step up when starting here and I’m now in a management accountant role so it’s taken some adjusting to the accounts assistant roles I’ve done over the last 6 years, even if it was a slight drop in hours to give me more time to relax and continue my studies. I’m really enjoying using my brain a bit more, even if I only have a little brain! I think it’s just going to take a lot of adjusting and this role requires a lot of knowledge about what’s going on in the various company departments, which will only come gradually over time. I was certainly feeling much more positive at the end of last week and I think that’s made me feel more relaxed at home. Perhaps soon I can start enjoying the small drop in my working hours and make the most of my free time! I haven’t even picked up a crochet hook and yarn for weeks other than when I made my Mum a mother’s day present, so I’m hoping to get back into crochet again soon.

 

On Saturday I went to try on my bridesmaid dress with the other two bridesmaids and the bride, my best friend Jess. Our bridesmaid dresses are beautiful, the colour is a gorgeous dusty pink and they’re just so pretty! We all need some alterations, mainly as they’re far too long, but I’m glad mine fitted. It feels slightly tight across my ribs but the bridal shop assistant assures me this is just the boning detail in the dress and that you’re just not used to the feeling of the fitting… let’s hope so because I don’t know how to lose weight around my ribs! 10 weeks to go until the wedding though, so it gives me a good excuse to get back into doing my daily abs challenge to tone up. Jack has also signed up for an 88 mile bike ride at the beginning of June so he’s also just about to start a 10 week training programme he’s designed, so it’s nice to have an excuse to exercise and eat healthy together.

 

I had a busy day yesterday getting lots more seeds planted; I potted on my mangetout and peas, but I’m keeping them indoors until the risk of frost has passed. I also potted on my cherry tomato seedlings, Gaillardia and cayenne peppers. I then planted some runner beans, pak choi, mixed lettuce leaves and small sweet Frigaletto peppers. I’ll have to fight the tortoises for the pak choi as they go mad for it, along with fresh young salad leaves. I also planted quite a few flower seeds; a few sunflowers, lots of sweet pea and antirrhinum (does anyone else call them ‘bunny rabbit flowers’ like me? That’s what my Nan used to call them). I’ve also planted Borage, Cornflower and Lavatera, all of which are for my wildflower bed at the bottom of the garden. I’m very conscious about the fact we had to cut down the Buddleia in the back garden last year – it was over 10 feet tall and resting on the conservatory so we had no choice but to cut it down. We cut it back to about 4 foot tall and it’s full of shoots and leaves, so I’m hoping it will flower again this year after the harsh hair cut as the butterflies and bees were frequent visitors to our garden last year almost solely due to the Buddleia. That’s why I’m ensuring they’ve got lots of other flowers to visit in the garden. We do still have a huge Buddleia in our front garden too which the wildlife also loves. Cornflower blue is one of my favourite colours anyway and I have lots of lavender in the garden as I love the scent, so hopefully I’ve not put the wildlife off. The little Wren who frequents our garden is certainly enjoying hopping amongst the grape hyacinths which have come up in droves in our back garden and front garden. We have a big noisy family of sparrows who love singing away in our privet hedge too and they love the fat balls I leave them.

 



 

Finally, I have my conservatory back! Hurrah! I can also show you photos of Jack’ finished shed and I’m very proud of him as it looks great. I’ve got one final bit to paint (yes I’m the paint slave), but it’s lovely to get all of the tools, lawn mower, gardening bits and bobs out of the conservatory and into the shed where they belong. I now have more planting space, the torts will be moving in there shortly before they move to live in their outside run and then I would like to get a rattan seat or two so I can enjoy sitting in the nice warm conservatory with a book while admiring my garden.

 



Have a lovely week everyone and an early Happy Easter (just in case I don't get around to another blog post for a little while)!

 

Em x

3 comments:

  1. Oh poor poor Barry & you, I bet you were constantly worrying about him. I'm glad he is now picking up for you & I bet he looks super cute with his shaved tum. Rocky is in bad books as he slept on my bed last night & was growling all through the night as the field contained cows,all blinking night! I'm exhausted! I'm glad your new position is still working out for you & that you are enjoying it. We are having lamb for Easter too & I'm looking forward to it I might get Mike to make a cake as he has recently taken up bread making. xx

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  2. It's nice to get a catch-up post from you Emma :) I'm so sorry to hear Barry has been so poorly. My work colleague had exactly the same a couple of weeks ago with one of his Great Danes. She had to be kept at the vets overnight because of severe vomiting etc. But she has fully recovered and I'm sure Barry will be back to his bright self soon. Have a great Easter weekend xx

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  3. Hi Jo, Barry is a lot better now, he's been sick once over the past few days so that's pretty good going and he's back on normal food and a lot happier in himself. Hope you had a lovely Easter! xx

    Hi Fiona, thanks for your comment - apologies for the delay in replying! Hope your friend's dog is feeling much better now. It's a worrying time with them being so severely and frequently sick, but thankfully Barry seems to be just about back to normal. The cause still remains a mystery and the Vet says its likely that Barry is just one of these dogs that can get a flare up of severe gastroenteritis which will result in a stay at the vets each time to get fluids into him. Hopefully he doesn't have them too often as he seemed so sorry for himself last time! Hope you had a lovely Easter and hope your dogs are all ok xx

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